Any Updates As To When PSLE T-Scores Will Be Scrapped?

[pirated]

bggb:

sushi88:

I know of course they exist but still a very small sample to be considered a diverse environment compared to the non-SAP schools...which is more multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-national.

Yes, very small % of students from other ethic groups in SAP school. A few that I know is either the father or mother is a Chinese.

hence to be truly diverse, a drastic paradigm shift is needed

the well traveled Americans or those with international exposure are sending their kids to chinese lessons

the political elites of certain neighboring countries also send their kids to UK and China ....

I don't think we could over cater .... lest be mistaken for social engineering to fit certain ethnic group

[zulu]

Sun_2010:

zulu:

I have asked this question before but have not really received any definitive answer......will the less privileged kids benefit from the revamp or do they stand a better chance of making the top schools with the current T- score system?

The details of the new system is not known. What has been revealed is the the academic part is by banding - but how wide the band, besides how will Hmt/affiliation/MT exemption be treated we dont know. And the big question - what are the other criteria that will play a role, how much of a role ?

Without even an outline how can a comparison be made?

It is evident that in the top schools the representation of the low income group is far lesser than the national average. So the current system is not doing the under privileged kids justice. The question is will the revamped system do any better?

my fear is that replacing T scores with grade bands and other intangibles would actually leave even more under privileged kids behind. hope I am wrong.

also skeptical that the new system would allow the kids the luxury of time to smell and admire the flowers.

[pirated]

zulu:

my fear is that replacing T scores with grade bands and other intangibles would actually leave even more under privileged kids behind. hope I am wrong.

also skeptical that the new system would allow the kids the luxury of time to smell and admire the flowers.

it sounds like jumping from the wok into the fire

(not the best analogy)

[iRabbit]

I've been thinking how is moe going to ensure diversity of student population in top schs. Besides banding, they might do this.


You know how GST voucher amount is calculated. It's based on annual income and home value. Do you think they will go as far as imposing a min quota for each SES for top schs? Would parents be able to accept this if it happens?

But being Kiasuparents, we can always game the system. :boogie: PSLE year, both parents quit their jobs, sell their houses and stay in rental!

Okay, just kidding. Don't torch me, okay. :torchme:

[zulu]

iRabbit:

I've been thinking how is moe going to ensure diversity of student population in top schs. Besides banding, they might do this.


You know how GST voucher amount is calculated. It's based on annual income and home value. Do you think they will go as far as imposing a min quota for each SES for top schs? Would parents be able to accept this if it happens?

But being Kiasuparents, we can always game the system. :boogie: PSLE year, both parents quit their jobs, sell their houses and stay in rental!

Okay, just kidding. Don't torch me, okay. :torchme:

Wah, this also you can think of....are you one of those govt scholar?

[dimsum]

iRabbit:

I've been thinking how is moe going to ensure diversity of student population in top schs. Besides banding, they might do this.


You know how GST voucher amount is calculated. It's based on annual income and home value. Do you think they will go as far as imposing a min quota for each SES for top schs? Would parents be able to accept this if it happens?

But being Kiasuparents, we can always game the system. :boogie: PSLE year, both parents quit their jobs, sell their houses and stay in rental!

Okay, just kidding. Don't torch me, okay. :torchme:

you are not the first one to think of that. Not long ago, one friend advised me to continue staying in HDB flat as he believed it will boost my DC's success rate in DSA. :rotflmao:

MOE was only willing to reveal to ST about 60 per cent of students who secured places in secondary schools through DSA over the last five years live in HDB flats. But they declined to provide details on the proportion of DSA students in IP schools who reside in flats. I believe the % must be quite low, which will cause uproar if they reveal.

[iRabbit]

zulu:

Wah, this also you can think of....are you one of those govt scholar?

I'm the quintessential Kiasuparent. :imanangel:

[lee_yl]

So far, nothing about DSA via leadership was mentioned. However, leadership could be one those important criteria to consider when two students are tied with the same grade when applying for the same sec schools with limited vacancy.


\"Popular secondary schools may have to select students based on other aspects such as community service, co-curricular activity performance, leadership potential and resilience, which may be more subjective,\" said Dr Seah.

Leadership (e.g. Head prefect) gives people an impression of 品学兼优, 模范生, which sec school doesn't want?

Recalled during one of our holidays to China, I visited a distant relative who hung up certificates of his daughter being a \"三好学生” which are only awarded to top students for 学业好 （academic excellence), 品德好（good character) and 体育好 (talented in sports).

Perhaps, our govt is moving towards such holistic education whereby every child is groomed to be all an rounder. :nailbite:

[zulu]

lee_yl:

So far, nothing about DSA via leadership was mentioned. However, leadership could be one those important criteria to consider when two students are tied with the same grade when applying for the same sec schools with limited vacancy.


\"Popular secondary schools may have to select students based on other aspects such as community service, co-curricular activity performance, leadership potential and resilience, which may be more subjective,\" said Dr Seah.

Leadership (e.g. Head prefect) gives people an impression of 品学兼优, 模范生, which sec school doesn't want?

Recalled during one of our holidays to China, I visited a distant relative who hung up certificates of his daughter being a \"三好学生” which are only awarded to top students for 学业好 （academic excellence), 品德好（good character) and 体育好 (talented in sports).

Perhaps, our govt is moving towards such holistic education whereby every child is groomed to be all an rounder. :nailbite:

Like those sword fighting shows where the hero/heroine is a sect leader who can spout poetry while killing? :?

[sushi88]

pirated:

Sun_2010:

It is evident that in the top schools the representation of the low income group is far lesser than the national average. So the current system is not doing the under privileged kids justice. The question is will the revamped system do any better?

this is evident not just in Singapore but in every society

the well off has an advantage, no denial about it

social mobility in most cases happens with families who are enlightened and are able (intellectually, financially) to push their offsprings in the direction of academic development

if both parents are busy making ends meet working 18 hours/day in the factory, it is hard......but then in every society, this is a normal distribution. You can't pull others down in order to bring others up. Those who are up there will also able to move further up.

This is not a don't care attitude but people must recognize that the normal distribution is in play.

The reality is that the 'low level' in Singapore is much higher than others' mid/higher level ...... :siam:

I agree with you. While we are mindful of social mobility and fair opportunities, we need to ensure that we do not over penalise the same people who have worked hard to get there. Some people who are well off today are also people who were terribly poor in yester years. It would be punishing to tell this group that \"Sorry we have to give opportunities to the lesser privileged when this group also put in their fair share of hard work with their kids to thrive in the system. I still feel that meritocracy rules. We tend to assume that kids growing up in better environment has it good, everything is dished out to them. Actually no. When they are put out there to perform in an interview or a competition, what counts is really their own hard work and their ability to adapt and innovate. So let's not assume that kids who are well provided has it good. On the contrary, I believe many parents are suffering from providing for their kids but see no results, hence the increasing stress. We often make very linear assumptions but in reality whether a child can learn or not, does not depend so much on external factors. The most important factors are the child's inner self, the learning passion, the drive and the character. Sometimes we forget that a harsher environment actually brings out the best in a person, not a comfortable one. So a child in a comfortable environment can strive hard to excel outstandingly is also not an easy feat, going against all temptations to just feel that they can stop trying. Both rich and poor have their own set of challenges. To me, if parents use money to solve their kids' lack of motivation issue or learning issue, I have no problem with that. I only have a problem if parents use money to buy directly opportunities for their kids called parentocracy in place of meritocracy. For the lesser privilege, they compete on different grounds, they do not need to spend money to solve the lack of motivation problem, that itself is already a very powerful difference.

So I like kids to be evaluated based on their own merits, not where they live or who their parents are. Artificially giving more opportunities to HDB dwellers is also wrong. Give opportunities where they deserve and not stereo-typed kids by type of housing. :roll:
Every child is an individual who deserves the right recognition for his/her own hard work. This is how I look at children, not their background. It would be equally unfair if they are deprived of opportunities simply because we think social mobility is an issue. This is as much an extreme as the other extreme of granting opportunities to the rich only due to connections and relationships. Can we just balance somewhere in the middle?

Bottomline for me, focus on MERITOCRACY and execute that well and unbiasedly.....the rest are just noise, whether poorer family or richer family.

If we move so much to an extreme, I am not surprised if one day people deliberately cut off a limb to handicap themselves because they get more compassion from the society....think hard about this...it can happen and perhaps already happening.

So we need a stoic system that cannot be subjected to manipulation by rich or poor.